[18] In the 16th century, the village experienced a phase of decline, as it began to untie itself from Milan and gradually lost its strategic function; in this way, it turned from an important military outpost into a simple agricultural center.

[23] This monastery, which included a small church also dedicated to St. George, owned much of the arable land that extended beyond Legnano to Canegrate, San Vittore Olona, Villa Cortese and Dairago.

[25] Hypotheses discarded by scholars consider instead that the reference to the saint derives from the municipality of San Giorgio su Legnano, which in the early 15th century was known as locus Sancti Georgi Plebis Parabiaghi Duc.

This document, which is also the first that mentions the village, reads: —Lombard Diplomatic Codex, number LIV[27][28][29]Other evidence of the presence in Legnano of conspicuous landed properties belonging to the Church was the so-called "Braida Arcivescovile," which was a natural island formed by the Olona River and one of its secondary branches, the Olonella, located east of the modern basilica of San Magno and named so because it was owned by the archdiocese of Milan.

[30] The monks of the convent of San Giorgio, as shown in an ancient document, were subjected to harassment by some powerful people in the area ("magnates et potentes")[31] who had settled on land bordering those of the archbishopric.

[33] In 1257, upon the death of Leone da Perego, it was not immediately clear who would prevail over the lordship of Milan: after a phase characterized by a heated dispute between the various factions, the family that managed to impose itself was eventually that of the Della Torre.

[31] In order to avoid unpleasant consequences, and considering the political situation of the time, which was unstable and characterized by continuous wars,[31] the friars decided to abandon the monastery by signing on October 14, 1261 a notarial deed of exchange with the brothers Raimondo, Napoleone and Francesco della Torre[8][22][34] and their nephew Erecco, although it is not known whether of their own free will or forcibly obliged.

[31] The motivation for this choice, as can be read on this document, is described as follows: [...] [The monks] are in the midst of perverse and powerful people residing in Legnano, so that they cannot live quietly without danger to their persons and the property of the Church [...].

[34] As the documents show, the chapter of the monastery, at the time of its cession to the Della Torre family, consisted of the provost Ruggero de Quinque Viis, known as Cippus, and others by three clergymen, Guiscardo da Viggiù, Guido Lampugnani and Mainfredo Toppus.

[37] The exception was the passage of the Milanese army to Legnano in 1285: the first time was on the occasion of the shift of war operations to Seprio, which took place in April of that year, while the second was a few months later, in July 1285, during the siege of Castelseprio.

[35] Partial preservation of the former monastery is not ruled out because the style in use at the time, exposed brick and pointed arch windows, was common to all constructed buildings except for very few variations, and thus served the purpose.

[41] War, however, was temporarily avoided: the two sides met in Varese to sign a truce, which provided for the abandonment of Castelseprio by the Della Torre, whose place was taken by Guido da Castiglione, their associate.

[46] The castle of Legnano and its properties were administered by the Visconti family until the 15th century: the only exceptions were Guido della Torre in 1311, who temporarily succeeded in imposing himself in the lordship of Milan for a short time.

[36] It was Umberto, however, who held important roles in the court: having graduated in law from the University of Pavia, of which he was also a full professor, he was involved by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, due to his academic knowledge, in the administration of the Duchy of Milan.

[36] Upon the latter's untimely death (1412), a civil war broke out that was spearheaded by the captains of fortune and the squires of the Milanese countryside who opposed the rise of Filippo Maria Visconti, the legitimate heir to the throne.

[60] After the fortification, the Visconti castle acquired the role of a defensive bulwark of the northwestern Milanese countryside, replacing in that function the ancient manor of the Cotta family, which was located on the same site as the modern Leone da Perego palace in the city center.

[1] On a document from 1530, referring to these events, one can read: [...] After the wheat had been harvested, the Count, together with Carlo Gonzaga and the two Piccinini, who had returned to Milan without doing anything, besieged S. Giorgio, a castle with strong walls and moats, well guarded by many Milanese.

[70] The legal disputes arose because of the will of Ferdinando Lampugnani, Oldrado III's son, which provided for the passage of the family's vast estates to multiple legitimate heirs and no longer exclusively in the firstborn male line.

[74][75] The goal of the new owners was to make it their aristocratic home, restoring the structure to its former glory: confirmation of this desire is the addition of their noble coat of arms alongside that of the Lampugnani in the family cartouches.

[70] The Cornaggia family used the castle as a summer residence until the end of the 19th century, when they decided not to inhabit it anymore even during the hottest season by staying all year round in their main stately home, which was located in Milan.

[70] In 1883, the Cornaggia family decided to turn the castle into a farm, given the conspicuous landed properties in its surroundings that provided a large amount of hay:[75] from an aristocratic residence it was converted into a simple dwelling for peasants.

[70] As late as 1940,[76] the year Sutermeister wrote his work, a wooden bed characterized by the presence of four candelabra turrets in the Baroque style that had belonged to Oldrado III Lampugnani, and thus dated back to the 16th century,[70] was still preserved in the room above the hall of honor.

[36] Also in this case, the arches were made of ashlar in terracotta and white marble: however, the remains of the ancient windows have completely disappeared due to some later restorations involving the exterior of the building and carried out by Oldrado III Lampugnani in the 16th century.

[2] A few walls remain of the old thirteenth-century building, which are still characterized by the presence of the old arched windows, which were, however, bricked up by Oldrado III Lampugnani in the sixteenth century: the latter also made the external white plaster[36] in the Baroque style.

[92] As already mentioned, Oldrado II Lampugnani also dug a moat around the structure, which was floodable by a system of locks installed on the banks of the Olona River, and built a drawbridge in front of the main entrance.

[66] On this occasion Oldrado III Lampugnani also changed the appearance of the inner courtyard, having panels made on the outer facades of the south wing of the castle[86] that contained depictions of weapons and rural scenes, which have been almost completely lost apart from a few traces of paintings that have weathered.

[94] The shape of the walls and that of the towers recalls those built at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan between 1450 and 1466,[96] from which Oldrado II Lampugnani drew inspiration, albeit with the difference in the material used: instead of the more expensive stone, the cheaper brick was opted for fortification in Legnano.

[66] With the construction of this building, which has a length of 24 meters,[86] the residential area was considerably enlarged: in this way, the castle took on the characteristics of a fortified stately home[66] equipped with large spaces and halls useful for the purpose.

[66] This construction was built above the so-called "caneva," i.e., the icehouse serving the castle: this underground room, which is 8 meters below the level of the walls and was made entirely of brick, is characterized by a small entrance door protected by a grille that is located in these stables and that leads to the inner courtyard.

[100] A further section of tunnel was instead discovered, this time in the town of San Giorgio su Legnano, in the basement of the so-called "Queen's House,"[87] which is located on Via Gerli and is perhaps the oldest dwelling in the municipality.